Since the advent of legislation in certain states requiring a deposit upon certain returnable beverage cans, there has been a need for a simple, low cost device to facilitate collection, transport, and counting of empty cans. Although a great variety of devices have been proposed, this need has remained unsatisfied. Desirably, such a device should comprise a receptacle to facilitate collection and storage of empty cans in a sanitary manner and in a compact space. The receptacle should store the cans in a manner which facilitates counting and in readiness for transport by means which is of low cost and light weight and yet sufficiently durable to endure at least a one-way trip to the store.
In the prior art, a reusable carrier constructed of transparent plastic has been proposed for collecting and transporting empty cans. In this carrier, a rectangular bag is provided with an open top and a plurality of vertically extnding compartments each adapted to receive a plurality of cans stacked on top of each other. This reusable carrier has the disadvantage of being relatively costly and must be transported to and from the store; also, it may eventually become unsanitary as a storage device. This device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,826 granted Sept. 24, 1985.
A similar reusable carrier device in which the cans are laid on their sides in horizontal tiers is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,525 granted Sept. 22, 1981. A reusable carrier comprising a vertical array of rigid tubes each adapted to receive plural stacked cans is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,930 granted Sept. 24, 1985. Although not adapted for beverage cans, a bag loader usable for refuse is shown in the Boyle U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,778 granted July 26, 1977. This bag loader comprises plural vertically extending rigid panels and is inserted into a limp plastic bag as a liner to receive the refuse. When it is filled, it is removed leaving the refuse in the bag.
A general object of this invention is to provide an improved bag loader for empty beverage cans which overcomes certain disadvantages of the prior art.